Meringues
A cousin of mine and I were talking about our baking pursuits. She had always been interested in baking and liked to try new and adventurous things in the kitchen. I asked her what she was currently working on, and she mentioned that meringues were her latest project. She said that she had tried several times and they never turned out the way that she wanted them to. I gave her a few tips that I had learned through making pavlova, a meringue-based dessert that is much larger, but she couldn’t really describe to me what she thought she had been doing that wasn’t to her liking. Recently, my cousin passed away due to complications from COVID-19. Her passing gave me a new-found mission to master the smaller meringue cookie on her behalf.
The assembled ingredients
I therefore set to work. In my research I found that there is surprisingly little variation when it comes to meringue recipes. I found what is virtually the same recipe in no less than 4 of my cookbooks that I regularly go to for baking research. So with a recipe to try, I went to work making meringues. The first thing that I found was that I could NOT use bottled egg whites from the grocery store. I attempted this as I hate to waste egg yolks if I can avoid it. I always attempt to save them and put them in the freezer, determined that I WILL use them for custard or something in the future. I’m afraid that these efforts almost always end in my throwing the frozen egg yolks out months later, but I digress. When I attempted to use the bottled egg whites I found that no matter how long I mixed, I could never get my egg whites to stiff peaks. They are to be avoided in lieu of freshly cracked and separated whole eggs.
The second tip that I discovered was that though I normally ignore the rule that you should have your eggs at room temperature for baking, in this case it was important. It took me almost 5 additional minutes to whip up cold egg whites than it did to whip up those at room temperature. The whipping process already takes a remarkably long time (for my impatient self anyway) and you do not need anything to increase the amount of wait time for these delicious cookies. It is important, however, to point out that you shouldn’t attempt to make the whipping process faster by increasing the speed of your mixer to the highest setting. Doing so, I’ve found, will result in random air pockets in your meringue mixture which will cause a slightly mottled appearance to your finished product.
Piping the meringues into the appropriate shapes could not be easier. I like to use as star shaped tip to give a fancy appearance, but if you’re without one you can easily use a pastry bag with no tip or simply a zipper lock bag with a corner snipped off. If you make shapes that are flatter, then your meringues will be crispy all the way through (my preference). If you make them a little taller, you’ll have a nice and crispy outside with a slightly chewier inside. It’s totally up to you.
Patience was indeed a skill that I had to learn, and is truly the reason why I have avoided meringues for the majority of my time as an amateur baker. They are not a dessert that is to be done quickly the morning of a party. The whipping itself takes a great deal of time, but the baking and cooling can go on forever. Each of these takes a complete hour to do properly. If the cooling does not take place slowly your meringues could end up soft in the end or even begin to crack while they cool.
Though the process of making these meringues can be quite time consuming, I have to say that the process of making them actually couldn’t be easier. In addition, the end result is totally worth it. When you take a bite into a crisp meringue cookie and you taste the sweetness just before it begins to melt in your mouth, you’ll know that your patience has earned you this pleasure. It should be noted that meringues made this way are actually the basis of a great number of delicious desserts and so learning to make them is a valuable skill to have as a baker. It should also be noted that it is important that you store them in an air-tight container. If left out for too long, the meringues will absorb moisture from the air and turn soft again.
I’m glad that I went through this process and learned how to make this fancy cookie. I only wish that I would have had the opportunity to make them with my dear cousin. I know, however, that she is smiling down on my now having worked out these problems in her memory. Caitlin, this one’s for you!
Joe, The Blue Wizard
